Monthlong Fiancée
by peach
Summary: Syaoran is given a week to get engaged to a girl, or else his mother will find tHe OnE for him. He is unable to do this, though, and at the last moment he grabs the hand of an unsuspecting girl--one who turned out to be his number one hater--Sakura!
1. Get a Girl!

**Month-Long Fiancée******

**By:** peach

**A/N:** It's my first fic under a new pen name~ hehe. Whatever. So, anyway, since this is only a prologue, there won't be much in it. It's pretty much an intro. Well, it's supposed to be, right? Still... I'm telling you. It IS lOoOoNg for a prologue. -_-  


  
Oh, and before proceeding, just take note that it's AU and it doesn't have magic. No Kero and Suppi, at least. And it's full of **OOCness**. You better not go on if you don't like that kind of stuff. ^^;; 

And no shounen-ai and shoujo-ai pairings here, either.

Okay, so maybe the prologue shouldn't have a title, but then… ehehe…

**Disclaimer (for all the chapters):** CardCaptor Sakura is a property of Clamp/Kodansha (or should that be Nelvana?). So don't sue me! But the plot is mine… I guess. If you think that the plot somehow belongs to you~ sorry. I haven't really checked in FF.net if anyone made a CCS story like this yet. 

**Prologue. _Get a Girl!_**__

"See you tomorrow, Li."

"Yeah, tomorrow, old buddy!"

Li Syaoran smiled as he saluted to his teammates in the school's varsity soccer team. "Bye, guys."

"And yeah, don't forget to bring _your_ girl!"

Syaoran laughed along with his friends before nodding and walking away. He absentmindedly checked on his watch. His cousin Meiling would probably be ticked off once again. The girl hated to wait.

Still, as he marched towards the school gate, Syaoran couldn't deny that what his friends told him bothered him more than he actually showed them. Sure, he acted like he didn't mind--but he did. The truth was, he _didn't_ have a girl. He _doesn't_ have a girl. And he _never_ had a girl. Probably never _would_. He didn't really care, anyway, if he had one or not. For all he knows, he could live _without _them. 

It's not that he has anything against girls. He just didn't get the point on why his friends--subconsciously or not--pressured him to get a girlfriend. And most of them were _single, too. What was wrong with the world??!?? Why did he __have to have one?  
  
_

Believe me, Syaoran isn't complaining because he could_n't_ get a girlfriend. He would only say the word, and a mile-long line of wannabe's would automatically form. He was the school heartthrob: smart, cute, popular, cool, and the soccer team's star. Practically eighty percent of the female population was dying to see him smile! He was even more famous than Hiiragizawa Eriol, the soccer team's captain. 

Then again, maybe that's why his friends wanted him to have a girlfriend. After all, it was quite unusual to have a heartthrob without one. But then it was still _his life, right?_

Somehow, though, he couldn't tell them off. Perhaps it was because he knew that even if he did, they wouldn't listen to him. Not really.

Anyway, as he caught a glimpse of his cousin's impatient face, Syaoran shook his head to himself and even managed a slight smile. The "girlfriend" issue was slowly drifting away from his head, and he felt less and less bothered by it. _Soon, he thought. _They'll _(his friends) __all forget about this get-a-girl thing. They'll leave me alone then, hopefully._

_Huh. I'll _never_ need a girl._ _Not today. Not tomorrow. Not even the day after that. Or next week. Maybe in the next ten years--_

"SYAORAAAAAN!!!!"

"I'm coming, Meiling!"

Okay, so let's switch to the other side of the school. In there we'll find Kinomoto Sakura, who is currently balancing on top of fourteen other girls--in a human pyramid.

"You can do it, girl!" the cheerleading captain, Mihara Chiharu, coached from below. She was watching all the others, uh, perform. "Don't be nervous. Just stay cool!"

With one final effort, Sakura managed to steady herself. A triumphant smile formed in her face. "I DID IT!" she screamed happily. "I DID IT!!" Amazingly, she did not lose her poise.

Daidouji Tomoyo put her camcorder down as she grinned at her best friend, beside Chiharu. (She isn't a cheerleader, though.) "You look so kawaii up there, Sakura-chan!" she said, her eyes twinkling.

The jade-eyed girl sweatdropped. "Hoe…" she mumbled.

"Hey."

The word brought all the eyes of the cheerleaders at the direction of the deep voice. It could only be--

_ERIOL-KUN! _Sakura almost tripped over her own feet at the top.

"That's a pretty high pyramid you've got in there," the blue-haired boy said as his eyes observed the formation. Probably half of the girls in there were tomato-faced. Even if Syaoran was the school's number one crush, after all, Eriol still ranked _second_.

"I guess so," Chiharu agreed and smiled back, but she wasn't blushing like most of the girls around her. "So, how was practice?" She hesitated for a moment, before asking, "And where's Yamazaki-kun?"

At this Eriol broke into a smile. Seeing this, Sakura staggered backward, dangerously coming close to falling down. She was Eriol's number one fan.

Sasaki Rika, who was on the third level of the pyramid, said, "I think you can get down now, Sakura chan!"

The cinnamon-haired girl sighed in relief before following her friend's command.

Eriol glanced briefly at the _breaking_ pyramid before answering Chiharu's questions. "Yamazaki would be here soon. He just went off to get changed. And practice was okay, so far. Li is still doing very well." He laughed. "Maybe next time he could be captain."

Sakura heard this, and she immediately gave a death glare at the general direction of the school gate, where she knew Syaoran was now, most likely. She was his number one _hater_, and somehow she always knew where he was and what he was doing. She knew that he outshone Eriol, and that fact sent her ready to kill him. 

Everyone in school knew about how much she hated Syaoran, and most of the girls could only wonder why. And that was not only because they like Syaoran, it was also because Sakura was the friendliest, most cheerful most uh, lovable, and cutest girl around, which makes her the school's sweetheart (despite her tendency to be VERY naïve). And even if a lot of admirers were on her back, the other girls didn't resent her for that, since she was _too_ nice to hate.

But of course, the world goes upside down when it comes to Syaoran. Nobody despised the guy more than she did. And he knows it, too. Still, he doesn't really care. They would have been the Perfect Couple, but _circumstances_ didn't just permit it.

Back to Eriol's conversation, Chiharu shook her head. "You know that whatever happens, Li-kun just _doesn't_ want to replace you. And nobody can, really," she told him earnestly.

"Whoa… thanks a lot, Chiharu-san." Eriol grinned. "Yamazaki's lucky to have you. So, I guess I'll just see you around. I have to go, sorry."

"That's all right. Ja ne!"

As he went off, though, Eriol stole a very brief glance behind him. We can only guess who he was looking at. ^^;;

Switching back to Syaoran, we now find him and Meiling at the door of the Li apartment.

"What's taking Wei so long?" Meiling wondered out loud as she pressed the doorbell once again. "He's probably cooking something like--"

The door suddenly tumbled open. Before the two stood Yelan Li, Syaoran's mother.

"Auntie!" Meiling fairly shrieked.

"Mother?" It was as if Syaoran couldn't believe his eyes. "What are you doing here?" Remembering his manners, he added quickly, "I mean… how nice of you to come. This is quite… unexpected."

"Yes, I know." Yelan stepped back to let them in. "We have something _very_ important to talk about, Xiao Lang."

"I-I see…" Syaoran hurriedly got inside, bewildered. What could be _that_ important that it brought his mother here?

He soon found out, though, that even his bubbly sisters were imported right from Hong Kong.

After dinner, only Yelan and Syaoran were left at the table. Meiling was dragged away by her other cousins.

Once they were gone, Yelan finally stated the reason why she was there. "You need a wife, Syaoran."  
  


The boy almost choked. And he wasn't eating anything at that, too. "A wife?!!???" he repeated incredulously.

"I expected this kind of reaction," Yelan said calmly. "All right. So I meant a _fiancée."_

Syaoran only sank deeper into the chair. "Wife" and "fiancée" meant the same thing to him. He didn't speak up anymore, though. He knew that what his mother said is what his mother said. She wanted him to get engaged at fifteen, but engaged he would be--and most likely, soon!

"To become the leader of the Li clan, you need one, Xiao Lang," Yelan told him. "You might think you're too young--" _Exactly_, he thought. "--But it is a must. Wei has told me that you haven't even had one girlfriend, so I believe _we must do the task of finding a suitable fiancée for you."_

That was even _worse._

"I can find one for myself," Syaoran managed to say. "Really."

Yelan sighed. "I can't wait a year, Xiao Lang. When you turn sixteen, you must have an _established fiancée. And before that time you still have to introduce the girl to the whole clan. Your sisters and I still have to go back to Hong Kong too, in a month, probably. We only have to make sure that things are going well here. And that includes your engagement."___

The chestnut-haired boy sighed.

"But maybe I can give you a week," Yelan suddenly added just when Syaoran was giving up.

"Really?" he asked, making sure he heard her right. A week was too short to get a fiancée, but it was better than nothing, after all.

"You heard me, Xiao Lang."

"Thank you, Mother. Thank you." Syaoran finally smiled.

Still, the question on _who_ the girl would be lingered on his head. It wouldn't be easy, after all, to find someone he'd actually get married to for the rest of his life.

_Ugh_, he thought. _Now I'm stuck. I guess I _REALLY _need a girl this time._

**A/N:** Ehek… review please! **Flames aren't welcome**, sorry… I already know my fic isn't perfect and it sucks. @_@ Not much about Saku-chan here, either. It will get more on her side once it goes on, though (I think).

And yeah. I'm sorry about the Everybody-Loves-Him/Her and cliché (-o-). Another thing. Can someone give me the names of Syaoran's sisters? I know that there's Shiefa and Fuutie but I ain't sure about those, either. Help me, anyone???

  
  



	2. Declaration

**Month-long Fiancée**

By: peach

**A/N**: Errr… so not much reviews, but anyway, to Suteki Maiden, Cutie Kat, Carmela-chan and SaKuRa LoVa… THANK YOU!! At least I know that some people out there think that my fic makes even just a little sense ^^. So, anyway, I won't be blabbing on much. Here comes nothing!

**Chapter One. _Declaration_**

Syaoran sullenly stood up as he finished his dinner and was permitted to leave. As much as he hated to admit it, he _needed_ a girl, and quick, before his family pushes somebody into the picture. And only a few hours ago he was telling himself that he probably wouldn't even need one _all_ his life.

_What could go worse?,_ he thought. A grim smile suddenly formed in his face. _Well. At least now my friends wouldn't have to bug me about a girlfriend—this time, it's a mandate to have one._

"And Xiao Lang?"

Syaoran shifted his gaze to Yelan, a look of inquiry in his face. _Please don't say that you've decided to cut off our deal anyway,_ he was actually pleading inside.

"I just realized, though," she paused in between sips of her wine. "That you should meet the girl that I picked for you before you go off hunting around for a fiancée."

_And I thought that she has no candidate yet_. Syaoran had to admire his mother's unusual pace at dealing with issues like this. _But then again, that's just her._

"The girl I'm telling you about is quite wonderful," Yelan went on. "I thought that perhaps you would like her right off and then choose not to go on with your plans anymore."

The amber-eyed boy nodded mutely. _That's not such a bad deal. Maybe "the girl" wouldn't be so bad after all… and I actually don't have to waste my time _needing_ someone else…_

"Uh, hi." The words came out rather awkwardly. Syaoran couldn't keep himself from scratching his head before sticking out his hand. "I'm er, Li Syaoran. But I bet you already know that."

"And I believe that you perhaps know by now that I'm Hashima Reika," she replied, smiling uh, _perfectly._ Her blue eyes shone as she did so. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Li-san." The girl seated before him in the vast living room had so soft and so gentle a voice that Syaoran had to wonder if she ever experienced _screaming._

"Yeah, same here," Syaoran replied, forcing himself to smile back. "I mean, uh, it's nice to meet you, too, uh, Hashima-san."

You see, Syaoran was _very annoyed. All four of his sisters were watching him about ten feet away, not-so-hidden by the fireplace. They were all, of course, giggling to themselves, and gushing at how _cute_ their little wolf has grown up to be and how _adorable_ it is seeing him talking to a sweet _little_ girl. Since about five minutes ago, when Reika's mother and Yelan left to "talk things out" and give Syaoran and the girl time to know each other, the four have been forming all sorts of conclusions like I-bet-Xiao Lang-is-in-love-with-her-now and he-sure-won't-go-girl-hunting-anymore._

Well, we _all_ make mistakes.

Syaoran and Reika were well aware of their presence, though. The amber-eyed boy's irritation showed only a faint sign; still it was not a match for the girl's completely unperturbed behavior. She went on rather calmly.

"I've heard that you do very well in sports, Li-san," she was saying. "You must be a very good athlete, then."

This time Syaoran managed a real grin. "Not really," he told her. Of course, everyone else knows better. "I just love playing outdoors."

Reika's long, jet-black wavy locks swayed along with her head before falling neatly on her back as she nodded. The air of elegance never left her as their conversation went on. It was obvious that she did not just come from a wealthy family, she was well-bred, too. She was brought up without the trace of a flaw in the way she moved, spoke, act and—who knows? Even _thought_ and _felt_, probably.

She was _perfect_, needless to say.

But that just happened to be the problem.

All four of the Li sisters squealed happily once they returned home. "So what do you think, Xiao Lang?" they asked Syaoran all at once. "What do you think of Hashima Reika? She's really beautiful, isn't she? And she's _sooo_ charming, too! Don't you just_ love _her? You're not picking another girl, are you? Right? Right?"

Before Syaoran could answer, Yelan interrupted, her voice cutting through the noise her daughters were making. "You are going to get engaged to Hashima-san very soon, if you don't find a fiancée, son," she told him matter-of-factly.

"I know." Syaoran sighed. He then turned to his sisters and answered their questions. Still, what he said seemed to be directed to his mother, too. 

"Hashima-san _is_ beautiful, all right. And she's really smart, I can tell from the way she spoke to me. And yes, she's well brought-up, of course. Those are pretty obvious things. She's perfect…" he trailed off and shrugged.

"SEE?!! MOTHER, SYAORAN IS GOING TO MARRY HER!" four high-pitched voices chorused happily.

Syaoran sighed for the umpteenth time that day. "I didn't say that." All four heads turned to him with death glares pasted on the faces. Syaoran ignored them. "I just said she's _perfect_. But then, I've decided to try my luck for a week, anyway."

"WHAT??!!!???" I don't have to mention how that was said and who said that, right?  
  


"Don't get me wrong, please." Syaoran shook his head. He couldn't explain things clearly to them, either. "There's totally nothing wrong with Hashima-san… except that… she's _too_ perfect. I mean, I can't marry her if she'll be that way forever. She's just… that. _Too_ perfect. I can't live with a girl who's like that. I need… _someone else_."

All four of his sisters seemed to shrink back. In confusion, perhaps?

Yelan simply nodded, although she was quite taken aback by her son's reaction. She had thought that he'd like Reika right off. It turned out to be the other way around.

"You have seven days, then, son," she said. "From tomorrow until next week. When you can't present _anyone_ to me, though, you _have_ to get engaged to Hashima Reika."

"I understand, Mother." Syaoran held back a sigh. He has sighed for countless moments; it was time to break it off before a habit forms.

Meiling's forehead creased. "I don't get it. So you're planning to take things the hard way?" she asked her cousin, who was slumped on his bed.

"What do you mean, the 'hard' way? It's the sensible way, Meiling," Syaoran replied with as shake of his head. "Who would marry someone he or she barely even knows? Count me out, definitely."

"It is _so_ the hard way, you know," the dark-haired girl continued to insist. "You can just simply agree that you'd marry Hashima-san and that's it. You're making things tougher for everyone, you know. To find a girl and make her your girlfriend is easy enough for someone like you, all right. But getting _that_ girl to agree to marry you after only a week?" She rolled her eyes. "That's wishful thinking, Syaoran. _They_ might be crazy about you, but they know their limits."

Syaoran knew she was right and had to agree. "Still," he argued, not giving up. "You can't generalize, Meiling. There must be some girl out there…"

"Yeah, right. By and by, you'll end up with Hashima Reika. You're wasting your time, you know?"

"NOT."

"Fine. Think what you want to think, just don't blame me if your scheme fails. _I warned you_!"

That was Friday.

Syaoran was then free to start on his search for a fiancée the very next day, Saturday.

_I can prove Meiling wrong,_ he told himself as his "mission" came to mind that morning. _Maybe not today. Or not even tomorrow, since I won't be at school. Still, there are five days, and that should be enough._

Somehow, someway, things _just_ didn't turn out the way Syaoran thought they would.

_Saturday._ Eriol him that they were holding an emergency soccer practice for the _whole_ day at the school campus. Syaoran had previously planned to hang out in the mall or somewhere but then, _That should be okay. There's bound to be a few girls over there too._ Tada. The high school turned out to be virtually empty, except for the members of _their _team. _There's still six days left_, Syaoran thought as he came home, tired. _No cause for panic…_

_Sunday._ "LI-KUN!" Yanagisawa Naoko's frantic voice came over the line. "I suddenly remembered that we have that group project in English (they had the same class), and it's due _tomorrow_!" she wailed. "Get ready to spend the whole day _here _with the rest of the guys. See you in twenty minutes!" Syaoran's groupmates turned out to be all guys except for three girls. Two were taken, and the other one was, well, taken, too—by books.

_Monday_. Syaoran started the day, thinking, _Here's my REAL chance. Weekends don't really count, after all._ So maybe he _did_ have the time to check out a likely candidate, but then that was for only half the day. An unexpected storm hit Tomoeda, and classes were suspended. He hasn't even singled out who "the one" would be.

_Tuesday_. Considering the fact that he already had five to ten girls in mind, it was a pretty good day to make his moves. But poor guy. The storm was reigning in all its dark glory. No student in his right mind would bother going to school or _any_ place out at that time. But why do it anyway? Classes were _cancelled_ that day, because of the storm.

_Wednesday._ Syaoran was _absent_. He got a little too desperate the previous day and ended up sick. Too bad—Wednesday turned out to have a clear sky.

_Thursday._ Meiling gave him a long look before they set off for school. "You were telling me, Syaoran, that you wouldn't marry Hashima-san since you don't love her," she told him. "But then you can't just _fall in love_ with some random girl out there just because you want to, right? I'm not an expert, but _love_ doesn't come _automatically_, does it?" That really got Syaoran, and he thought about it all day. All day, that is, while doing his chemistry project in the lab, with his lab partner _Takashi Yamazaki_.

_And then it was Friday…_

Syaoran was in such a state of panic that morning that Meiling had to scream at him to STOP running around like he caught fire or something.

"But today's _the_ day, Meiling!" he complained frantically. "If I don't get engaged to someone, and SOON, I'll end up marrying Hashima-san someday! And she's _not_ the girl for me!"

Meiling was about to ask, "How did you know?" when four squealing happy voices cut through their conversation.

"Mother said we four can pick you up after school and check on your _new_ fiancée!" the four sisters announced. "She's going over to some sort of business today, you see. But we're really excited, Xiao Lang. The girl you were talking about must be a REAL princess that you picked her over Hashima Reika!"

Syaoran slapped his hand on his forehead and mumbled, "Kami-sama help me…"

It was lunch hour, and Syaoran was scanning the cafeteria. So far, he found out that on the ten girls he had on mind, five just managed to get boyfriends, three were not in school (probably they're in some competition), one was obsessed over a complete someone else, and the other was planning to be a nun.

So, naturally, he needed a new list—er, girl. And fast.

His amber eyes particularly landed on a particular girl with raven hair and amethyst eyes. That's right—it's Tomoyo. Syaoran pondered on about her and realized she might just be a match for Reika. Daidouji Tomoyo was _perfect_, too. Although not really Mary Sue-ish, just the _right_ amount of perfect.

But then, he mentally kicked himself. _You really don't have to find someone who's Hashima-san's equal. As long as I get a fiancée, it would be all right whoever she is. She doesn't have to be perfect…_

He thought, too, though, that Tomoyo seemed to be okay, and it wouldn't hurt to get engaged to her. So he marched off in her direction.

"Hi," he said, with a smile. "Can I eat with you this time around, Daidouji-san?"

The girl smiled back, but it was a rather _different_ smile. "I guess so. But I'm afraid… well, I'm eating with Sakura-chan today," she told him. It was somewhat her way of saying—NO.

_I should have realized that_, Syaoran thought regretfully. _She and Kinomoto-san are best friends, and Kinomoto-san hates me for all I'm worth._

"Never mind, then." He grinned. "See you around, then, I guess."

Tomoyo nodded just as Sakura arrived, death-glaring at Syaoran. Syaoran sighed, telling himself, _Few more hours to go…_ His gaze landed on Sakura and he thought to himself that she was one girl whom he definitely won't even consider.

World War III was not his ideal marriage, after all.

Syaoran shuddered as the bell rang, indicating that the school day had ended. Normally, he'd be walking out of the room about twenty seconds after the bell, but that day he didn't move from his desk.

_I had a new list of candidates._ _I managed to talk to them. I tried. I tried. But now what?!?? It's the end of the day and I _DON'T _have even just a girlfriend!_

His friends had to drag him out of the room, since the teacher was closing it.

"What's wrong, Li?" They all asked him the same questions. "Got a problem, huh? Something we can all pitch in and help at?"

After about five minutes Syaoran shook his head as if he'd gone out of his trance. "Uh, nothing's wrong. I'll see you tomorrow, then, guys."

And then he snapped back to his spell.  


  
Behind him, if only he listened, he could have heard his friends muttering things like, "Weird. Is he sick or something?"  


So here's what really happened to Syaoran. Out of the new twenty girls he thought off, only eleven were in his classes. Not bad? Definitely. But when one of those subjects turns out to be the one with the terror teacher in it, well, no chance of talking to that girl. So three were immediately crossed off. And the other eight? Well, Syaoran DID manage to talk to about three of them, in his last three periods. But then, too bad. An hour or two is not enough to fall in love with someone he barely even thought of a week ago, ask her Will-You-Marry-Me and of course, get her to answer I-Will.

Meiling was right. Love _wasn't_ automatic. Of course. What did he even think of?!??

Poor, poor Syaoran.

There was nothing left to do but to walk out of the school building.

And oh yeah. Meet his sisters, who were waiting for him one hour even before the bell.

"XIAO LANG!!" His sisters were over-excited, as usual. "So who's she? Did you bring her here? Where is she? What's her name? Can we meet her now? No, of course, we _have_ to meet her so we can tell Mother something about her. Come on! Where _is_ she?"

Syaoran stared blankly at them.

His sisters frowned but then broke into grins again. "So you mean you're planning to marry Hashima-san, then? So you've _re_considered her and realized that she's Ms. Right! Or did you just fail in your plans? Huh? Either way, you must be getting engaged to her then?"

_This can't be happening. This can't be happening… I'm NOT marrying Hashima Reika in five years. Ten years. Twenty years. Thirty or fifty or sixty or a hundred…_

"Xiao Lang!" his sisters finally said, getting a bit impatient. "Answer us!"

_I need a girl NOW_.

Syaoran took a step backward as he realized somebody was walking behind him. Sneaking a look, he saw that the person was wearing girl's shoes. So it must be someone of the female population…

_Hope this is the right one,_ he thought as he grabbed the girl's hand, not knowing who it was.

Quite easily he was able to get her to face his sisters without having to look at her.

"She's the one," he told his sisters calmly. "My fiancée, I mean." And then he shifted his eyes toward the girl.

Sakura stood there, probably in shock. But by the time Syaoran realized that he picked Sakura Kinomoto, he was in shock, too.

**A/N:** Uhhhh… it's TOO long! *sighs* I normally don't write chapters _these_ long… 

And it's too slow, huh? Not too much progress here. Still more on Syaoran. Actually, it's ninety-percent Syaoran. I guess I should have expected my fic to be this _slow_ even then. Well, whatever. It's done and I hope you **review** anyway, and don't flame otherwise! ~ *_*

The chappie is called Declaration because it's where Syaoran declared Sakura as his fiancée… it doesn't fit much, but ahehe… -_-;;

  
  



	3. Deal?

Month-Long Fiancée 

by: peach

**A/N:** *hugs reviewers* Wheee!! Thank you for all the reviews… *big smile* You guys made me feel lots better (ehehe)!

.::. To SaKuRa LoVa, btw, thanks for giving me the names of Syaoran's sisters ^^. The thank-you came a little late, sorry… Anyways, I might be able to use them now so I can quit referring to them as "four squealing voices" or "Syaoran's four sisters" or something like that. (",)

So, people… second chapter up! Lot_s_ of OOCness here… A lot more, believe me!

**Chapter Two. _Deal?_**

Syaoran couldn't believe it.

He was plain _unlucky_.

There were some eight hundred girls who would _volunteer_ to be his girlfriend, about two hundred who were on neutral ground at that issue but pretty much thought he was all right, and just a single one who hated him more than anybody else.

The odds on getting somebody quite willing to _pretend_ were good. Very good, in fact.

Then again… what can we say? He picked Sakura Kinomoto—also known as his only and number one -_-;; hater (sorry—kept on saying that). He picked that girl over a thousand others who'd fit "better" into the situation.

He looked at her in utter disbelief just as she shrieked, "HOW DARE YOU!"

Sakura was seething by then, and he knew she was just about to explode in a few moments. Still, he had to take care of his sisters. The four were looking at him and his new "fiancée" in confusion. He shifted his gaze to them and back to Sakura. He had to cover for the girl's reaction—and quick.

"I'm sorry, _Sakura_," he said hurriedly, blurting out the first thing that came to his mind. "I knew I should have told you that you were meeting my uh, sisters today. It's my fault, I know. I'm sorry."

Sakura's glowering expression faltered for a moment. For one whole second she stared at him as if he was stupid. After that she immediately went back to shooting daggers at him.

She was about to say something again, when Syaoran said rather loudly to his sisters, "Uh, we have to talk for a moment. Sakura's just _upset_ that she wasn't well-prepared for _your_ meeting."

Not waiting for a reply, Syaoran immediately grabbed Sakura's hand and, despite her resistance, was able to drag her about fifty meters away from the group.

His sisters just stood back, speechless.

After fifty-meters, Sakura got too _tough_ and pulled her hand away.

The first thing that Syaoran could remember after that was the painful sting of a hand slapping his left cheek.

To his amazement, Sakura said rather coolly, "That's what you get for LYING and for DEFAMING me."

He had quite expected a torrent of furious words.

Syaoran gently placed a hand on his left cheek. "Ow…" he muttered under his breath as he looked up at the cinnamon-haired girl.

"That suits you," she hissed. "And make sure you clear things up with those girls at the gate! I would know better than to be _your_ fiancée." She turned and began to stomp away.

For the third time that day, Syaoran grabbed her arm. Sakura was very well prepared for a second round of a slap, but then she was caught by surprise when the boy spoke.

"I'm sorry," he said sincerely. He _absolutely _meant it, trust me ;). "Really, I am."

Sakura faced him, and for that time at least, she let her a bit of her _nicer side—the one the whole school knows her for—disclose itself to him._

"Frankly speaking, I didn't really get what happened," she said sheepishly, a sudden change of attitude taking place. "I was just sort of _stunned. But tell me, what's going on?" She stopped abruptly and looked at him with a hint of concern in her eyes. "But, uh, I guess I shouldn't have slapped you just like that. Sorry."_

Syaoran smiled. _She might be quite radical in all these mood swings__ she's having… but they're for the better, at least. "Yeah, well, let's get over that," he said. He cast a brief glance at his sisters, who, as he noticed, were also looking at them with incredulous faces. "For now, I need to ask you for something."_

The jade-eyed girl tilted her head. "What's that?" she asked.

"Well… since I already introduced you to my sisters as my fiancée…" He paused. He could just see her reaction after he finished what he was saying. "Maybe… you can, well, _actually_ pretend (ironic?) that you _are…" He saw the immediate change in her expression and continued right off. "I need a fiancée really bad or else I'd get engaged to someone that—uh, I just don't like. But see, this setup will only be until my family's convinced that I _am_ engaged. We could pull this for __only a month. After that they'll probably leave for Hong Kong, and once they get there I'll just call them and say we broke up and that I've found a new girl. That won't be a lie since by the time I called them I'll really have picked someone I _really_ like."_

His last statement would have seemed offensive, but then Sakura had absolutely NO feelings for him and didn't mind.

Anyway, back to earth, Sakura—whose face was, sad to say, again twisted in irritation—said in annoyance, "Why don't you just tell them NOW that we've broken up and you've gotten someone else?!?? It's not my fault that I just came walking by at the time you decided to grab somebody's arm, right?!?? Why not just pick some diehard fan of yours—someone actually EAGER to get on with this dumb hoax?!??"

Syaoran hesitated. _She's right_, he thought. _Why don't I just do that…? It sure would be better with a bigger chance of survival for me._

In his mind he pictured Sakura and him together. He saw himself being treated like a slave because _he_ was roped to the agreement.

And then there was a second picture with some girl who was actually _babying him, thus humiliating him in front of everyone, literally._

_Slave or baby?_

_I guess I'll take in the slave… since I probably won't be one, anyway. _They_ all say that Kinomoto's the friendliest girl out here, after all. Maybe she has __the potential to be nice even just for a month and would consider being uh, less hard on me… _That would sure be better.__

_In fact,_ he thought suddenly._ Maybe it wasn't a mistake to pick Kinomoto-san. Maybe things would turn out better since she wouldn't be overreacting__ in her role as a fiancée._

"No," Syaoran finally told the girl. "I can't get someone who'll be treating me like her baby doll or some lost puppy." He sighed and tried again. "So, can you just do me this favor? Just this one?"

Sakura looked skeptical, but the fierce look she had two minutes ago had disappeared. "It's a one-sided deal," she told him flatly. "I'll be wasting my time."

"Once we pretend to be a couple, the boys after you would probably _disintegrate, you know," Syaoran said matter-of-factly. "Don't you consider that an advantage?"_

The jade-eyed girl realized that maybe those _annoying_ boys behind her back would probably disappear once they find out she's hooked to someone else. But then… "No way would I let _anyone_ know—if ever—that we _are engaged!" she cried._

Syaoran sighed. How in the world could he make her say YES?

He looked past Sakura at the milling students all over the campus. The familiar sight of dark blue hair suddenly gave him an idea.

"Okay, I have another deal," he suddenly told Sakura with a confident smile. "After our 'break-up', I'll help you out with Hiiragizawa."

At the mention of the name Sakura's forehead creased. "What do you mean?"

"I meant that _I'll help you become Hiiragizawa's girlfriend!_" he replied with a shake of his head. "Get it?"

Sakura tried to think about what he said. _Does he mean it? Maybe. But maybe he'll just leave me hanging in the air after I do my side of the bargain… Then again, he _could_ be telling the truth…_

Her head was just beginning to ache.

"So?" Syaoran almost anticipated a big fat OKAY from her.

"Well…" Sakura closed her eyes for a moment. Upon opening them, she said, "I'll sleep it over."

The boy almost forced her to make her mind up that very day, but then decided that might drive her into saying no. He shrugged, thinking there was nothing he could do about it, anyway. Besides, they _both_ needed to get home—and his sisters were probably _bewildered_ at what was happening by now.

"Okay, then. Think about it real hard and let me know tomorrow," he finally said. And suddenly—he smiled. "Thanks a lot, Kinomoto-san."

"I didn't promise you anything."

"Thanks, anyway, for your time at least."

Sakura had to smile back before she turned and walked away.

Meiling was already there by the time Syaoran reached his sisters.

"That was Kinomoto-san," she said rather suspiciously. "What were you doing with her?"

Fenran, one of his sisters, looked at the dark-haired girl. "So her name's Kinomoto?" she inquired. "That's a pretty strange name."

"It's her last name," Syaoran explained patiently. "Her first name's Sakura. It means cherry blossoms."

Xiefa tilted her head. "You forgot to introduce her to us." She rolled her eyes. "But anyway, what happened out there to you two? Did you and your_ fiancée just have a lover's quarrel or something like that?"  
  
_

Meiling was watching them with a confused expression. But when Xiefa said the word_ fiancée she got the point and almost fainted -_-;;. "SYAORAN!" she squealed. "You mean that _Kinomoto-san_ is your new girlfriend?!" She started to hyperventilate and began mumbling, "I can't believe it!" over and over again._

The amber-eyed boy gave a casual shrug of his shoulders. "Just keep it to yourself for the time being, Meiling," he told her. _After all, it's not yet decided whether she's really going to be my pretend__ fiancée or not._

Meanwhile, his sister Feimei jumped in the conversation. "We don't have much to tell Mother about her since you whisked her away," she complained. "Then again, I guess it would be all right to tell her that you had a fight…"

"NO!" Syaoran glared at her. "Don't do that. We made up anyway and that uh, _disagreement was as good as forgotten."_

Fuutie, by now, was impatient to get home. "We'd better go home, now," she told the group. "Mother would be surprised if we don't get there before she does."

The other five followed her out of the school campus.

Meiling, on the other hand, fell behind as she walked with Syaoran. "Did I hear things right?" she asked with a shake of her head. "That is _so weird, Syaoran. This must be the end of the world. You and Kinomoto—together?!!??"_

Syaoran couldn't guess if she was going to shriek or just laugh. "Things do work out weirdly at times, Meiling," he told her. _And hopefully, this time, they'd work out weirdly but still okay…_

**A/N:** It IS a weird chappy, isn't it? I sort of felt strange writing it. Oh well. Don't mind me.

**Review!**Pretty please? ~no flames, still…

Another weird thing. After I posted the first chapter, Tuesday this week a storm _really_ hit our place and classes were suspended. Queer, huh? ^^


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